Our first day in Beijing was scheduled for the local highlights…Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City…but first we had to maneuver the hotel breakfast.  Mock all you want, but unless you battled the throngs of Chinese and German tourists anxious for their fill of congee and deli meats before 8am, you never be fully prepared for a day navigating in China. We were pushed, jostled, and shoved around the buffet and once we loaded up on our tea and croissants, we tried to find a seat…for a hotel with 12 floors and a few tour buses parked outside each morning, the 15 dining tables seemed insufficient. Eventually we asked to join the empty seats besides some Canadians (we knew they were Canadian because despite the near-freezing temperature outside, both seemed comfortably geared up for a sightseeing day wearing shorts and t-shirts), and while they seemed wary of us, we must have looked pretty pathetic because they gave in!

After the breakfast hustle, we met our Beijing guide and set off for a day in the main sites. Tiananmen Square was huge. [Ed. note: largest public square in the world!] The hoards of people pushing through security was overwhelming at only 9am. Since we came with a guide, we were able to go through a special line without metal detectors, but we watched the Chinese police rather forcefully turn away those who were solo towards a more stringent checkpoint…they were very concerned with avoiding a repeat of the late 80’s here it seemed.  Once inside, we saw what might have been the only organized line in all of our Asian adventure. Hundreds (or thousands?) of people were queued in hopes of walking past Mao’s tomb to honor him. [Ed. note: yes. Millions of Chinese people still come and honor Chairman Mao, he of Great Leap Forward and Great Famine fame…] Our guide graciously volunteered to hold our bags and cameras if we wanted to make the 3 hour wait for that site, but we decided to skip it in the hopes of more time in the Forbidden City.

Confession time…the only thing I know about the Forbidden City is that it used to have a Starbucks inside. I’m really bad at history because I found myself wondering where it was alongside the Terracotta soldiers. [Ed. note: sigh.] So once inside, I was in for a surprise. The place was pretty large, although the number of tourists streaming in should have made it seem overcrowded, but every single group simply walked down the middle from one gate to the next, so each of the vast sides were wide-open for us to stop with the guide and give me a desperately overdue history lesson.  Once we reached the middle, it was time to see the highlight of the Emperor’s City: the throne room. Our guide knew what was coming next and pointed us in the direction with a smirk and instructions of where to meet him if we got out. This didn’t bode well…

The lack of line wasn’t surprising. The pushing of the crowd we even expected at this point. But the sheer force with which we were propelled both forward into the metal barricade protecting the throne, while simultaneously being shoved backwards from every angle as people who had succeeded in their selfie attempted to escape the crush was unlike anything we had ever felt before! As 2 mothers pushed past with their arms shielding the heads of their kids, my husband had an idea. Using the fact that he was a foot and a half taller than everyone around, he latched onto me and dove forward so I could snap the picture we literally fought for. And then just pushed a path backwards until he dragged us both safe from the swarm. [Ed. note: hey, when in Rome…] And the sight we risked life and limb for? I’ll let you be the judge, but personally I think I would have fought harder if this place still had a Starbucks…